How did Indian Territory become a state and When was the State of Oklahoma created?

June 15, 2014 by Karen Hill | Filed Under: History

After the Civil War, many Indian leaders wanted it to make Indian Territory a state.

They proposed that it join the Union as an Indian state called Sequoyah, after the famous inventor of the Cherokee writing system. The U.S. government ignored the request. It now wanted to open the Indian Territory for white settlement.

In 1890 the western half of Indian Territory was renamed Oklahoma Territory. After that area was settled by non-Indians, the government merged Indian Territory and Oklahoma Territory in 1907 to create the state of Oklahoma.

Despite enormous resistance by Indian Territory leaders, the United States, in preparation for statehood, dissolved the Indian nations in Indian Territory.

Their governments’ were disbanded and their tribal lands were broken up into small plots owned by individual Indians.